Emergency-brake.



3 Sheets-Sheet l Patented Sept. I0, 190|.

J. L. CUSHING.

EMERGENCY BRAKE.

(Apphcatxon led Oct 11 1900 (No Model) No. 682,457. Patented Sept. lo, 190|. J. L. cusmne.

EMERGENCY BRAKE.

(Application mea ont. 11, 1900.;

3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

No. 682,457. Patented Sept. I0, I90I. J. L. CUSHING.

EMERGENCY BRAKE.

(Application led Oct. 11, 1900.) (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

nl: Nonms neas co. Pworcrm'uo.. wAsHmamN. u. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT EErcE..

JOSEPH L. OUSHING, OF LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS.

EMERGENCY-BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 682,457, dated September 10, 1901. Application filed October 11,1900; Serial No. 32,670. (No model.)

T cir/ZZ whom t may con-cern.-

Be it known that I, JOSEPH L. CUsHiNG, a citizen of the United States,residing at Lowell, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Emergency-Brakes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The presentinvention relates to emergencybrakes for cars.

The object of the present invention is to provide an emergency-brake which may be attached to cars without in any way interferin g with the ordinary brake and which may be quickly applied and with great force.

To the above end the present invention consists in the brake hereinafter describedj and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown my emergency-brake applied to a four- Wheeled truck-such, for instance, as is now commonly employed on electrically-propelled street-cars. My invention, however, is not limited thereto, but may be employed on cars having more than one truck, whether of the electric or steam railroad type.

In the illustrated embodiment of my inveniion, Figure l is a top plan view, and Fig, 2 is a side elevation, of a car-truck provided with my improved brake. Fig. 3 is an enlarged side elevation of my brake and a portion of the truck, showing one brake block or wedge in its normal or raised position and the other in its operative position for brak--` ing the car. Fig. 4 shows the detent-rods, Fig. 5 the bell-crank lever, and Fig. 6 the brake-wedge in detail. y Fig. 7 illustrates the guide-piece for the brake-wedge, Fig. S showing a modified form thereof. Fig. 9 is a sectional view on line .fr x of the bell-crank levers and the slotted actuating device.

l represents the car-wheels, supporting, by means of suitable journals and boxes 2, the truck-frame 3. The longitudinal side timbers 4 of the car-body are supported on the truck-frame 3, suitablesprings 5 being interposed to reduce the jar and jolting caused by any unevenness in the track. Brakeshoes 6 and brake-rods 7 are provided, whereby the speed may be diminished or the car stopped, as desired. All this is ot the usual form and construction and constitutes no part ot' my invention.

Secured to the longitudinal frame-timbers 4 in any desired manner-conveniently by the bolts 8are the angle-irons 9, connected by the struts lO, having T-shaped ends. Rigidly secured to the ends of these struts andthe horizontal web of the angle-irons 9 are the angularly-shaped brake-wedge guide pieces Il, having a recess or guideway l2 adjacent to the periphery of the Wheels l. An inverted-T iron 13 connects the lower L ends of these pieces ll, thus providing a rigid and firm construction. Arranged to slidein said guideways 12 are the brake blocks or shoes 14, which, as shown in Fig. 6, are substantially wedge-shaped. These brake blocks or wedges are normally held in the upper portion of the guideway l2 and out of contact with the wheel, suitable mechanism being provided whereby the rearmost set may be released to descend and engage the periphery of the rear wheels, the direction of rotation of the same tending to force the Wedge-shaped blocks downward, and thus effectually brake the car. The mechanism by which this is accomplished is as follows: Pivotally mounted upon the struts are the bell-crank levers l5, to the shorter arms of which are pivoted the detent-rods 16. These rods are arranged to have a slight longitudinal movement in a bearing 17 in the lug or ear on the part 11. A hole 18 iu thebrake- Wedge 14 is engaged by the ends of these rods, locking said blocks in their raised or normal position. When the levers are oscillated, however, the ends of the rods will be withdrawn, allowing the wedge to fall and brake lhe car. The longer arms of the levers l5 are provided with the slots 19 and are actuated by the slotted link 20 and pin 2l, as shown in Figs. 1 and 8, the length of the link being such that when in its normal positionall the rods 16 Will be in their locking position, but movement in either direction will actu-ate the levers and rods to apply the brake to the one or the other pair of Wheels. The link may be actuated in any suitable manner, as by the rod 22, chain 23, and handle 24, conveniently placed for the operator. In order to avoid accidental Withdrawal of the rods 16 from the holes in the brake-Wedges, suitable springs IOO 25 have been provided, which are supported by the lugs 26 on the levers l5, said springs tending normally to force the rods longitudinally and maintain them in the holes 18. I have also provided the coiled spring 27, seated in a recess 28 in the top of the brakeblock 14, being compressed between the bottom of the recess 28 and the end of the strut lO when the block is in its raised position. The object of this spring 27 is to impart an initial im- `drame, wheels and axles carried thereby,

pulse to the wedge when released by the rods 16, thus insuring its descent and the breaking of the car.

In Fig. 8 I have shown a modified form of the wedge guide-piece 1l, designed to facilitate the raising of the brake-wedge after an emergency stop has been made. As shown in the drawings, this comprises a guidewayblock 29, secured by means of the countersuf-nk screw-bolts 30 to the supporting-block 3l. The releasing-bolts 32 are` arranged to hold said guide-block 29 a short distance from the supporting-block 3l, so that by simply nnscrewin g these bolts 32 the gui-deway-block 29 may move slightly toward the supportingblock 31, thus loosening the brake-wedge suficiently to permit its being easily raised to its normal position.

I am: aware that brakes havebeen devised in which the rotation of the wheels tended to force the brake-shoe into close contact th-erewith; but these brakes were inefficient and defective in that the supporting means for the shoes were not rigidly mounted upon the truck. So far as I know the prior art I am the first to produce an emergency brake adapted for use in connection with the ordinary brake in which a brake-wedge is arranged to slide in arigidly-supported guideway and wedge the wheel, the rotation ot the latter driving the brake-wed ge in still farther between the guideway and the wheel.

I am aware of the patentv to Marden, No. 74,235, dated February 11, 1868; but it is to be noted that the surfaces of the so-calledl claim as new and desire to secure by Letters- Patent of the Uni-ted Statesv l. A car-truck, having, in combination, a frame, wheels and axles carried thereby, brake-wedges, detents normally supporting the brake-wedges out of contact with the wheels, guideways for said Awedges rigidly mounted on the frame between the wheels and adjacent to their tread-surfaces, meansfor actuating the detents to release the brakewed ges, sprin g-actuatin g devices for' starting the brake-wedges and connections between thedetenta-actuating devices, substantially as described.

2. A car-truck having, in combination, a

fram-e, wheels and axles carried thereby, a brake-wedge normally supported ont of contact with the wheel, a rigid support, a guideway for the brake-wedge secured to said supy port, supporting-screws interposed between said guideway and said support, to permit movement of the guideway toward the support to loosen the brake-wedge, substantially as described.

3. A car-truck, having, in combination, a

brake-wedges normally supported out of conj tact with the wheels, guideways for said l wedges rigidly lnounted on the frame between the wheels and adjacent to their tread-surfaces, and means for releasing, the wedges `comprising an actuating devi-ce movable in ytwo directions and mechanism arranged tok l release one set of wedges upon movement of the actuating device in one direction and the other set upon movement in the other direcftion, substantially as described.

4. A car-truck, having, in combination, a frame, two pairs of wheels carried thereby', brake-wedges supported normally out-otn con- "tact with said wheels, guideways for' said brake-wedges rigidly mounted on the' frame,

vand means for releasing the brake-wedges compris-ing bellcrank levers, detentrods y pivoted thereto, a slotted actuating device, and sliding pivotal connections between the `levers and the actuating device, whereby movement of said d'evicein onedirection will release the brake-wedges for one pair of wheels, and movement in the other'di'rection will release the brake-wedges for' the other pair ot wheels, substantially as described.

51. A car-truck, having, in combination, a

- frame,- wheels and axles carried thereby, a brake-wedge, normally supported out of con-- tact with the wheel, a guideway for' said wedge mounted on the frame adjacent tothe tread of a wheel', means for releasing the brake-wedge so that it will engage the' wheel and by the motion of the same' be* wedged intoelese contact therewith, and means for loosening the brake-wedge, substantially as described.

wedge so that it will engage'the wheei and by the-motion of the same be wedged into close contact therewith, su-bstan tially as' described. In ltestimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses'.

JOSEPH L. OUSHING.-

WTi-tnesses:

Hon-Aon VAN EvnRnN, ALFRED H. HILDRETH.

IOO

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